The one thing that all the members of the Rainbow Readers (Lancaster’s only LGBT book group) have in common is their love of books. But after a quick straw poll with other members of the book group it seemed to be pretty much split as to how our members prefer to buy their books.
I suppose if you are lucky enough to live in a large city like Manchester or London you will not have a shortage of large, good or interesting bookshops. The Morecambe Bay area is lucky to have two Waterstone’s branches in Lancaster and one of the largest second hand book shops in the north west of England in Carnforth. Hardly a wide choice but at least we have got access to a fairly ready supply of literature.
There are other places that you can look of course for instance Lancaster University has a great bookshop and if you want to travel a bit further a field there is a really nice little bookshop (Henry Roberts Bookshop) in Kendal. I guess however one of the largest threats to traditional bookshops, especially in less urban areas, is the internet.
Whilst I am keen to support local shops with my purchases I do struggle to come to terms with the cost of books. As a for instance, I have just purchased The Hours by Michael Cunningham in readiness for Rainbow Readers Lancaster’s second meeting. The book was located on Amazon and was purchased, brand new, for the princely sum of 1p! The postage has cost another £2.75 but it still means I bought my brand new book for only £2.76.
Waterstone’s are currently selling the book for the RRP of £7.99 and they show their online price as £5.59. Without going through the whole process of registering with them online I don’t know if there is any extra cost for postage.
Saving money on books and CD’s by buying online is fairly commonplace now and for the more price conscious amongst us it is obviously not a bad ting. The flip side to all this is that buying from Amazon, eBay or any of the other new and second hand online retailers isn’t exactly a satisfying retail experience.
There is something quite unique about being able to browse through thousands of books at your own leisure. Treating yourself to this wonderful indulgence is quite unique. Losing yourself in your favourite section of the books shop where as your eyes scan a packed shelf you suddenly set sight upon a real gem, something you just wouldn’t have spotted with a clearly focused online search.
There is also another advantage of shopping in an actual books shop. You can seek advice, check out the very latest literary wonders to hit the shelves and occasionally get to go to a book signing, reading or other event that they may be promoting.
The verdict is pretty much that whilst book shops have been hit hard by the shopping antics of the more fickle amongst us nothing can replace a visit to the book shop.
